Steven Bullough

A new look at the latent demand for sport and its potential to deliver a positive legacy for London 2012

The current policies in England for increasing participation in sport have clear strategies and targets which were devised as part of a desire for an Olympic legacy at grassroots level from London 2012. One of the five legacy targets for the games was to introduce an additional 1 million people into regular participation by 2013, known as the ‘1 million indicator’. Two national surveys have been developed by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (Taking Part) and Sport England (Active People) alongside the Mosaic Tool from Experian. The surveys can track changes in participation and improve our understanding of participation and non-participation. This has allowed Sport England to develop 19 market segments which improve its understanding of attitudes towards sport. Secondary analysis undertaken on the results challenges the idea that latent demand for sport is present only in those individuals who do not currently participate. A strategic approach to attract and engage those individuals who currently do not achieve the recommended target of three sets of 30 minutes of sport a week, but exhibit latent demand for sport and physical activity, should be the key target group to focus on as part of the London 2012 legacy targets. National policies now have a greater potential to be implemented at a micro-level using the market segmentation profiles in clear catchment areas alongside strategic tools such as the Ansoff matrix and process of engagement/theory of behaviour-change models.

Give Us a Game: Evaluating the Opportunities That Exist for English Footballers to Play in the English Premier League

The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed, large-scale retrospective analysis of the number of English footballers that have been developed to play in the English Premier League (EPL) over twenty seasons. Unlike previous research, we examined appearance data as opposed to percentage of squad data enabling a more accurate representation of English players appearing in the EPL. The findings revealed a steady decline in the number and proportion of appearances made by English players in the EPL throughout the twenty season period. However, the results also indicated that the rate of decline had abated since the inception of UEFAs home-grown rule. The results support the view that opportunities for indigenous players have diminished since the EPLs inception. Given the short-term, results-focused culture that prevails in the EPL, this would appear to present a major challenge for governing bodies, particularly those working in elite player development. Discussion surrounding how these challenges might be met is presented.

Player migration and opportunity: examining the efficacy of the UEFA home-grown rule in six European football leagues.

The introduction of UEFAs home-grown rule occurred for the start of the 2006–2007 season with the full quota in place from the 2008–2009 season, which imposed quotas on European clubs. From 2008, clubs are required to have at least 8 players classified as home-grown in the 25-player squad, up from 4 in 2006–2007 and 6 in 2007–2008. This study examines the efficacy of this rule across the six major European leagues (England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain) in relation to playing opportunities (minutes played and appearances) between 1999 and 2015. This was also examined in relation to age. Since the home-grown rule was introduced for the six nations hosting the major leagues, the rule had different impacts by nationality. Only Germany saw significant increases in the proportion of minutes played by their players when comparing the periods before and after the home-grown rules were imposed. Holland, albeit seeing a slight decrease overall, saw significant increases for playing time for under 21s and 22- to 25-year olds. England and Italy were the two nations where statistically significant decreases in indigenous playing opportunities were recorded since the home-grown rules were introduced.

The impact of engagement in sport on graduate employability: implications for higher education policy and practice

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the impact of engagement in sport on graduate employability using a triangulation of views from three key stakeholder groups. Primary research was conducted with 5838 graduates, 112 employers and 13 university senior executives as part of a mixed-methods approach. The research found that engagement in sport was viewed as a sound investment from the perspectives of all three groups, with examples highlighting how sport provided ‘added value’ beyond subject-specific qualifications. This finding was particularly prominent where graduates demonstrated experience of voluntary roles through the leadership and management of sport and could articulate how this had a positive impact on the development of additional employability attributes. We argue that there are important implications for higher education policy, sports policy, universities, employers and students. For students, employability can be enhanced through participation and volunteering in sport, which is shown to be a good investment in terms of both skill development and future earnings. For employers, when recruiting graduates, a history of sport participation (inclusive of voluntary experience) may be a good indicator of candidates with desirable traits for employment. For universities, meeting their customers’ demand for sport with sufficient supply through strategic investment is an important consideration of their offer.

Youth academy player development in English football : the impact of regulation since 2006

Purpose From the 2006-2007 season, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) introduced regulation into European football by imposing “home-grown” quotas on clubs. The purpose of this paper is to remedy partial market failure by influencing issues in the game, namely reducing opportunities for “local” players and stockpiling players. Rule changes have amplified the importance of developing “home-grown” players; however, the UEFA rule is not limited by nationality, which is an inhibiting factor. Design/methodology/approach The sample used was the ten seasons from the introduction of the legislation (2006-2007 to 2015-2016). The results quantify English player production in these ten seasons, focusing on outputs (number of players, top-flight playing statistics, academy attended, club played for, age and international experience). Clubs are also categorised and analysed by the number of seasons played. Findings A total of 369 English players have debuted since 2006-2007, although only 141 developed through the eight “category 1” (ever-present) clubs. A high proportion of players are developing at elite clubs but having limited playing time and subsequently transferring to lower ranked clubs. The clubs promoted to the English Premier League (EPL) each season have introduced more English players into the EPL (167) than “category 1” clubs (112), and these clubs account for a minority of minutes played by new entrants (13 per cent). Furthermore, clubs outside the EPL are producing a significant number of English players, including those progressing to the national team. Originality/value Competing organisational purposes between the EPL, the FA and professional clubs have combined to create a complex environment and options for the future are discussed.

Central contracts in Test cricket: A model of best practice?

Across the last two decades, management of international cricket players has changed substantially, with the main Test-playing nations using central contracts to guide their team selection. Increased management control over player workload has been a key focus of this. This paper aims to analyse selection in relation to performance for eight Test-playing nations in 1135 matches over 30 years (1985–2015), particularly in relation to the introduction of central contracts. The results demonstrated a relationship between selection stability (i.e. changes made) and performance (overall results and win ratio). The improvement was more pronounced immediately following the introduction of a contract system, as the competitive advantage appears to be at its highest in the two years following their introduction. The data presented argue that the implementation of central contracts as a best-practice model has been a beneficial addition to nations’ performance in Test matches. Despite this, team managers, coaches and selectors should focus their work on developing an organisational culture where the elite environment has long-term stability as its focus. This is particularly pertinent, as selection uncertainty can be a de-stabilising factor, as suggested in this paper and in previous research.